This recipe comes from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook — they make an nice starter, or you could do what we did and served them over a salad with a lemon-dill vinaigrette to make a light dinner. The book recommends a vegan alternative to tzatziki to serve alongside, but not being vegan, we went for the full glory of greek-yogurty goodness. The main impetus for this dish was the zucchini and tomatoes from our garden that were just begging to be eaten!

Lisa says:

Ooh, these look awesome. Did you save any of our tomatoes to just eat on the side?

Chris says:

Whoops — though it looks like the rest will be ready to pick in the next few days.

Lisa says:

Dammit, oh well. Let’s see how these are…

Chris says:

I love the herbs. Dill and mint are a good combo.

Lisa says:

Yeah, they taste really good. Interesting texture…

Chris says:

Ha, was wondering if you’d mention that. Not quite exactly what I was expecting. Though when you realize that they’re mostly tofu, it makes sense.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Blend the tofu, walnuts, garlic, lemon juice, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper if you wish. Scrape into a large bowl and mix in the bread crumbs, dill, and mint — it should have the consistency of a thick cookie dough. (Add more breadcrumbs by the tablespoon if it’s not quite there). Fold in the zucchini and tomatoes. Create golf-ball sized balls of the mixture, and drop into the bread crumbs and roll to coat. Flatten to about 1 inch thick. Rub a large cookie sheet with olive oil, and as you complete each fritter, arrange so they do not touch. Spray with olive oil, then place in the oven and cook for 35 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

Here’s a recipe from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook that’s been sitting in the “need to post” pile for a while… we broke out the grill for this one a few months ago. We love the taste and texture of grilled portobellos, and when placed over a bed of greens and garbanzos with a slightly spicy, tangy mustard dressing, they make for a great healthy meal.

Combine the mushroom marinade ingredients in shallow glass dish, then place the portobellos upside down in the marinade. Spoon a bunch of the marinade into the mushroom caps to form a small pool. Preheat a grill to high heat and marinate for 20 minutes. Grill the mushrooms over direct heat, about 4 minutes per side. When done, remove from heat, and when cool enough to handle, slice and set aside. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, then throw all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the dressing over. Toss to coat. Place the greens on a plate, top with the portobellos, and serve.

4 main-dish/8 side-dish servings

And now, award time! I’d like to thank Margot from Coffee and Vanilla for presenting We Heart Food with a Beautiful Blog Award!Click here to check out the other recipients of BB!

One thing we’re finding out about the recipes in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook is that a lot of them aren’t exactly weeknight-friendly. Some of them are very involved and one would be wise to steer clear if a quick dinner is the goal. This recipe definitely falls into the “takes a while” category, but is totally worth it. This moussaka (which I like to think of as a greek lasagna with eggplant standing in for the noodles) features layers of eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes, a nicely spiced tomato sauce, and is topped with a pine nut cream rather than bechamel (This is vegan, after all).

Chris says:

Wow, that was kind of a pain, cutting those veggies 1/4″ thick. And it was a clear reminder that I need to sharpen our knives.

Lisa says:

Yeah, seemed like it took a while… if it makes you feel any better, the house smells absolutely amazing.

Chris says:

I know, I’m really looking forward to this…

Lisa says:

Did you try the pine nut cream before you put it on?

Chris says:

Yeah, it’s really, really good.

Lisa says:

Cool — I wasn’t sure about the whole pine-nuts-and-silken-tofu thing.

Chris says:

You blend it to a really creamy consistency. I also tossed some pine nuts on top. Anyway, let’s dig in!

Carrie says:

This is delicious!

Lisa says:

Yeah, I love it.

Chris says:

I really like the potatoes in it — they were crispy and browned going in, and now they’ve soaked up the goodness from the sauce.

Carrie says:

I’ve never had a moussaka before, but you’re right, it is sorta like a lasagna.

Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Lightly oil two baking sheets, line a third with parchment paper, and spray with cooking oil. Wash the eggplant and zucchini, and trim the stems. Scrub and peel the potatoes. Slice the eggplant, zucchini, and potatoes lengthwise, into approximately 1/4″ thick slices. This is a pain, but worth it. Rub the eggplant slices with a little salt and set aside in a colander in the sink or in a big bowl for about 15 minutes to drain. Briefly rinse with cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.

Place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet. Distribute the 1/8 cup of oil among the three sheets and sprinkle vegetables with salt (except the eggplant if salted already). Toss to coat the vegetables on each sheet. Making sure each piece is completely coated with oil. Spread out the vegetables on each sheet; some overlapping is okay. Roast the pans of zucchini and eggplant for 15 minutes, or until tender. Roast the potatoes for about 20 to 22 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned. Allow the vegetables to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomato sauce: Combine the remaining 1/8 cup olive oil and minced garlic in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat and let the garlic sizzle for about 30 seconds, then add the shallots and cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and simmer until slightly reduced, another 3 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, ground cinnamon, and bay leaf. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaf, and adjust the salt.

Make the pine nut cream: In a food processor, blend the pine nuts and lemon juice, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, until a creamy paste forms. Add the tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Lightly oil a 9 x 13 inch pan and preheat the oven again to 400˚F, if necessary. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce on the pan, then add successive layers in order of eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and half of the bread crumbs. Spread all the zucchini on top of this. Top with a final layer each of eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and breadcrumbs. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the pine nut cream over the entire top layer. Scatter a few pine nuts on top, if desired.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

We decided that after a meat-heavy couple of months, it was time for a week’s worth of vegetarian meals. So we started off with tonight’s soup, adapted from a recipe in Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. This recipe is chock full o’ shrooms, makes the house smell fantastic, and best of all, is extremely easy to make. Most of the time goes toward simmering the soup until the rice is cooked through. Definitely recommended for you mushroom lovers out there.

Lisa says:

I heart mushrooms!

Chris says:

Especially in this soup; this is great!

Lisa says:

I like that we got to use the porcini oil that Cathy and Chris got us, and the porcini salt!

Place the dried porcinis in a bowl and cover with the boiling water. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside. Preheat a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and saute the onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are browned. Add the sliced creminis and saute for about 3 minutes. Remove the porcinis from the bowl with a fork, slice thinly, and add to the pot, along with the soaking liquid. Add the wild rice and vegetable stock. Cover and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes. When the rice is tender, grate the carrot into the soup, turn off the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes. Add more broth if the soup seems too thick. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Another set of recipes in our trying-to-keep-it-light, post-holiday trend… I made this stew from Veganomicon and Lisa made an awesome cornbread adapted from a recipe @ 101 Cookbooks. The chili has too many green vegetables to count, plus Granny Smith apples! The cornbread had a nice little kick that went really well with the chili.

Lisa says:

Hey, this is a little spicy… and… sweet? Hmmm…

Chris says:

Well yeah, it’s a *little* sweet… there’s apples in it. But it’s not overly so. There’s a lot going on.

Lisa says:

You’re right… I’m adding a little bit of salt to mine.

Chris says:

The cornbread is awesome. Those peppers in it keep it pretty moist — I don’t need to slather my piece with butter.

Place the chopped potatoes in a small saucepan, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Let boil, covered, for a little less than 20 minutes, until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onion, jalapeños, and poblanos in oil for about 10 minutes, until everything is softened and the onions are slightly browned. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt. Saute for 1 more minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the white wine and tomatillos, raise the heat a bit to let the wine reduce and the tomatillos release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the apples, vegetable broth, scallions, and 1/2 cup of the cilantro. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Use an immersion blender to partially puree everything, or transfer half the chili to a food processor and puree, then return to the pot. Taste for tartness: if bitter, add a teaspoon or two of sugar to level things out. Add the cooked potatoes and the beans, simmer for a few more minutes, until everything is heated through. Add the remaining cilantro and the lime juice. Ladle into bowls, garnish with the avocado and scallions, and serve.

Preheat your oven to 350F degrees, with a rack in the middle. Just before you make the batter, in a small saucepan, melt the butter, stir in the red pepper flakes, and pour into a 9-inch pie tin or baking dish. Place in the hot oven. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the almond milk, egg, and chilies. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir until just combined. Now very carefully remove the hot pan with butter from the oven. Fill it with the cornbread batter, pushing the batter out to the sides if needed. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until the edges are golden and the center is just set.